The i7-8700 struggles to reach over 3.8 GHz.
The i7-8700 struggles to reach over 3.8 GHz.
I recently upgraded my motherboard from a Z390 MSI board to a ROG Z390 and noticed my CPU wasn’t working as well as before. On the other board, all cores reached 4.3 GHz without issues, but now they’re stuck at 3.8 GHz on all cores. I read that adjusting power settings helped someone else, but my new setup still can’t reach full performance. Anyone have a suggestion?
It meets its thermal design power cap. At 4.3GHz, the board suppliers ignore specifications and Intel standards, pushing the CPU to 120W while reaching maximum power efficiency.
Have you attempted to reset or update the BIOS? It appears power is restricted even when it shouldn’t be, so you might adjust the power cap in BIOS under "AI Tweaker" > CPU Core/Cache Current Limit Max and set it to its highest safe value.
Your current TDP is 65; consider increasing it if needed for better performance.
This would probably increase the clock speeds and also boost the heat production and power consumption of the CPU. Verify the cooler's capacity.
My noctua nh-u12s chromax.black performs best at lower temperatures, rarely exceeding 70°C in other setups
MCE stands at 4.7ghz across all cores, not 4.3. Following Intel’s TDP guidelines is unnecessary and misguided. It’s too hot due to voltage or current spikes, so existing safeguards are already in place. Dropping the power limit would be a mistake.
The TDP rating should appear as 125W instead of 65W. Intel designed the specifications, so it makes sense to adhere to their recommendations. Ignoring this could lead to frustration with misleading power estimates. Just acknowledge you have high-power processors and let them operate at full capacity.